GOLDEN, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines women's basketball team took a 78-76 victory from South Dakota Mines Saturday afternoon at Lockridge Arena in a game that came down to the final shot in the last three seconds.
 
Emma Sixta led her team in scoring for a second straight game with 25 points. Jade Leon used all the tools in her belt and finished touting 16 points, eight rebounds, six steals, and two assists. Sofia Baldessari added 13 points, eight rebounds, one steal, and one assist to the winning effort. Jenna Shandy's 12 points made it a quartet of double-digit scorers. Shandy also had four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Blocks by Quincey Baum and Sophia Baal were key as well. The game's leading scorer was Savea Mansfield who scored 32.
 
Colorado School of Mines (9-8, 4-2 RMAC) won its fifth straight game by turning over South Dakota Mines (6-8, 4-2 RMAC) 18 times and converting that into 24 points. The Orediggers' defensive production offset a Hardocker squad that shot over 50 percent from the floor and had 10 more rebounds than the home team. Additionally, SDM went to the free throw line 26 times and converted 22 of those opportunities. In comparison, the Colorado squad was 14-of-19 at the charity stripe. The Orediggers' also benefited from 34 points off the bench with most coming off the hand of Sixta.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Offensive fireworks marked the start of Saturday's showdown between engineering institutions. The first quarter alone featured a total of 49 points with the Orediggers taking a 28-21 lead into the first break on 64-percent shooting. Six individuals fueled the home team's scoring frenzy with Shandy and Sixta combining for 16. Offense for both teams cooled in the second quarter and the defense picked up. Colorado School of Mines forced the visitors into six turnovers, and the Hardrockers held home team under 16-percent shooting from the floor. The result of the defensive battle was SDM scoring 14, the Orediggers scoring 11, and a 39-35 halftime lead for Colorado School of Mines.
 
Both offenses reignited in the third quarter. This time, the production favored South Dakota Mines which missed just two of its 12 field goal attempts on the way to 83-percent shooting in the frame and 29 points. Colorado School of Mines battled with 18 points of its own, but the Hardrockers closed the frame on a 14-0 run and carried a 64-57 advantage into the final quarter. They clung to the lead for more than eight of the last 10 minutes, but the home team kept it close.
 
With 2:08 left to play, Sixta converted an and-one layup and pulled the Orediggers within two points at 75-73. Sixta struck again with 1:41 on the clock, muscling in another layup to tie the game at 75-75. Leon completed Colorado School of Mines' comeback with a steal at fastbreak layup with just 1:14 remaining in the game. A pair of free throws at the 0:56 mark provided SDM its first chance to tied the game, but only one went in. The Hardrockers bounced back immediately and forced a shot-clock violation by the Orediggers, but missed their potential go-ahead jump shot on the other end. Baum added Colorado School of Mines' final point on a free throw after a necessary foul by the visitors. A running three-pointer as the clock expired fell short and clinched the Oredigger victory.
 
NOTABLES
- Colorado School of Mines improved to 14-7 all-time against South Dakota Mines.
- The Orediggers have nine of their last 10 meetings with the Hardrockers.
- Colorado School of Mines hasn't lost to SDM in Golden since 2020.
- Sixta tied her career high in scoring on Saturday. She also scored 25 points at Texas Woman's in 2024 and now has more than 300 career points as an Oredigger.
- Leon's six steals against the Hardrockers were a career best.
- Shandy moved into a tie with Sammy Van Sickle for #6 on Mines' all-time list for made three-pointers at 169.
- Head Coach Brittany Simpson is now 241-147 in her 14th season leading the Orediggers.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines travels to CSU Pueblo next Thursday for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff. Live video will be available with a subscription to the RMAC Network and there will be free live stats at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines women's basketball on "X" (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram at @MinesWBB. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.